The present invention relates to receptacles for providing electrical power and/or data connections to an existing article of furniture. Most particularly, the invention concerns an extendable and retractable receptacle assembly for mounting in the top of a table, desk or like article of furniture.
For many years, articles of furniture, such as desks and tables, have been provided with openings that allow a user to pass an electrical power cord through the top of the furniture. Such an arrangement has been very useful in managing the power cords associated with various electrical appliances, such as lamps, calculators and the like. Many desks and tables are provided with "knockouts" that can be removed to expose an opening in the tabletop through which the electrical cables can be extended.
As businesses have become more computer literate, the personal computer and all of its auxiliary hardware, are very prevalent. For example, many business training facilities rely upon the use of computers to help train their employees. In a typical setup, several computer stations can be provided at a single table or at multiple connected tables. In some cases, these computers are networked to one another. Similarly, many conference facilities provide meeting locations with computer networking and electronic data transmission capabilities. Again, the conference table becomes the site of a myriad of computer equipment and associated cabling.
In situations such as these, the task of managing the various electrical cables and data wires can become very significant. One solution, of course, is to simply drape the cables and wires over an edge of the table or desk work surface. Another solution is in the form of the knockout plates described above. However, it has been found that neither of these two solutions is very optimal and actually do very little to manage the large number of wires associated with a typical conference or training facility.
In a more optimal solution, the various wires and cables are carried along trackways that are mounted to the furniture. For example, in the case of a training or conference table, a conduit or trackway is attached to the underside or backside of the table top so that the various cables and wires can be collected and hidden. The use of these conduits or trackways has greatly alleviated the troublesome snarl of wires that may dangle from a single workstation.
While the use of these trackways has alleviated some of the nuisances associated with electrical/data wiring, the problem still remains as to the manner in which the electrical components are connected to the wires. In a typical conference or training facility, the worktables can be multifunctional. In other words, the tables do not always need to be "electrified" since computer equipment and other electronic equipment may not always be in use. In this instance, it is important to provide a table or desk that can take advantage of the various wire management features when electrical equipment is being used, while still being able to retain the useable tabletop space when electrical equipment is not being used.
Various solutions to this problem have been suggested throughout the years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,513 shows a removable electrical housing assembly. In this particular assembly a plate is normally disposed over an opening in the furniture work surface. The plate can be removed and replaced by an electrical housing that is supported on the work surface. The electrical housing can be engaged to an electrical connector, which itself provides the various receptacle modules for use at the table. In another approach shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,881, an array of electrical receptacles is fixed to the underside of a tabletop. A hinged lid can be closed over the electrical receptacles to form a flush surface with the work surface of the table. When it is desired to use the electrical receptacles, the lid is pivoted upward, thereby exposing the receptacles below the surface of the table.
In still another approach, the electrical receptacle itself is manipulated from a position below the work surface of the table or desk to a position exposed above the work surface. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,747,788 and 5,230,552, an electrical receptacle assembly is pivoted to a position in which the receptacle sockets are available for use. In this case, the back of the receptacle is essentially flush with the work surface when the receptacle is in its retracted position. In another approach, exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,173, the power receptacles are translated vertically through an opening in the table.
While each of these prior systems has helped address the problems of wire management in a powered work surface, they all suffer from various detriments. For example, the extendable/retractable receptacles of the prior art require fairly substantial structure and mechanisms to perform their appointed function. In systems such as represented by the hard mounted module in the '881 patent, the user is not left with the option to easily remove the power receptacle on demand. On the other hand, the completely removable assembly shown in the '513 patent requires the user to completely remove the electrical receptacle assembly when it is not in use.
Consequently, there remains a need for an extendable/retractable receptacle that is more versatile and easier to use than the various prior systems. Moreover, there is a need for such an apparatus that can be readily used with stowable furniture, such as folding tables. The large and bulky structure and mechanisms associated with the various retractable receptacles of the prior art do not lend themselves to use with such folding furniture.